NY Ccenter

Ennead Architects Renovates Historic New York City Center

Led by Ennead Architects’ Duncan Hazard, AIA, back-of-house renovations to this historic performing arts venue were completed in September 2010. Phase II, which began in March, will transform the front-of-house experience. All images courtesy of Ennead Architects.

Designed by Harry Knowles of the New York architecture firm Clinton and Russell and completed in 1923, the building originally was a meeting hall for the Ancient Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (the “Shriners”).

The modernization and upgrade of the building includes the preservation and restoration of its historic facade and the addition of a new marquee.

The theater’s new box office lobby. The interior features elaborate arabesque motifs and intricate plasterwork. To highlight its Moorish architecture and decorative detail, the auditorium walls, long covered with white paint, are being returned to their original palette of rich colors and detailing.

The will-call desk of the theater. New design insertions have been based on a careful study of the underlying geometric motifs of Islamic architecture, reinterpreted to be complementary, but not to slavishly imitate the existing fabric.

The box office lobby bar. This phase of the renovation is designed to achieve LEED Silver certification. Measures including water-saving toilets in all restrooms, energy-efficient lighting, heating, and air conditioning, and enhanced recycling of building waste.

The theater’s restored mezzanine lobby. Inside, an enlarged, redesigned orchestra-level lobby will facilitate audience traffic flow into the building. In the auditorium, patrons will be accommodated in approximately 2,200 new, wider seats with expanded legroom and greatly improved sightlines.

New bars in the mezzanine lobby. The completed project will be unveiled at the building’s gala re-opening in October.

Back to AIArchitect August 19, 2011

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